Pages

Monday, 30 October 2017

London: Honey Afternoon Tea and a Bee at The St Ermin's Hotel

I have often said and written that Afternoon Tea is one of my favourite meals. I love lingering with friends and family over plates piled high with thin sandwiches with no crusts (I hate crusts on sandwiches so this is a plus point for me!), perfect little cakes each one cuter and more inviting than the previous one. And when you are full, and you can often have more of each section, they bring freshly baked scones, jam and cream! I don't often drink tea however it is an essential part of the afternoon tea ceremony.

When all of the hives are full and you are a bee in London you can always stay at the 'Bee and Bee Hotel' on the 3rd floor terrace of St Ermin's Hotel next to the line of bee hives also on the terrace. St Ermin's is in close proximity to many large London parks which temp the bees to visit regularly to collect the precious nectar for that sought after sticky and delicious substance that I and others love so much!

St Ermin's Hotel around the corner from St James's Underground station is offering an Afternoon Tea with a sting!

The lobby of the hotel is clear and uncluttered and very understated luxury at every turn providing a very relaxing atmosphere.

On the first floor is the Afternoon Tea suite currently offering a Honey Afternoon Tea for £29.00 or With unlimited Prosecco for £35.00. Given the current prices of afternoon tea in London this is a great bargain!

The tables are set with an eclectic mix of patterns that do not go together yet all go together along with very comfortable chairs.

We had a quiet table near a window to sit and enjoy our tea with no sense of urgency or rush which was much appreciated.

We were happy to sit and chat whilst we ate our way through the imaginative offerings.

The tables were set in a contemporary mix-match style with a combination of pink and white and blue and white however it all went together and set the tone of the innovative treats to come.

Our glasses of champagne were continuously being re-filled which was good because it took so long for us to pick a tea from the extensive menu selections. The list includes black teas like signature St Ermin's English Breakfast, Darjeeling as well as Masala Chai; green teas Jasmine blossom, Oriental Sencha or Fujian Oolong or pick a herbal tisane of Chamomile, Rooibos Orange plus.

They lure you in with a relaxing glass of champagne, you pick which tea you want to drink and then WHAM! you are presented with a towering selection of tea time treats! Each of us had our own platter, Manjiri wanted gluten free on the top row, Nayna is vegetarian so her middle platter was suitable for her preferences and I had the bottom row.

Feeling full but we were still excited when the freshly bakes scones appeared! They were served with little bowls of jam and cream however they were supposed to come with honey too (as this was a Honey Afternoon Tea) but didn't. The staff were friendly but the service was not up to my exacting standards - it is all about the attention to detail in my mind!

When we finished our tea we ventured up to the 3rd floor terrace to see the bee hives. Unfortunately with the shortening of the days it was getting dark outside which was not ideal for our photos!

During October at the end of the visit you get a certificate of adoption for one of the 350,000 bees that live on the 3rd floor terrace in their own bee hotel!

It is always good to get another perspective so if you would like to read Nayna's account of our Afternoon Tea with a Bee click here.

You can read more of my Afternoon Tea visits by clicking on the link below:-

I was a guest of St Ermin's Hotel and the Honey Afternoon Tea however I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions and photographs are my own. No photographs may be reproduced in any manner without my written permission.